PayPal withdraws from North Carolina because of new LGBT discrimination law

That's the biggest economic backlash to hit state following signing of HB2.

On Tuesday, payment processor PayPal said it is abandoning plans to open a new global operations center in Charlotte, North Carolina in the wake of the state's new legislation that discriminates against the LGBT community. The news comes just two weeks after PayPal, based in San Jose, California, announced plans to bring 400 skilled jobs to the state. But on March 23, North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory signed legislation making his state the nation's first to require transgender people to use bathrooms that comport with the sex listed on their birth certificates.

"The new law perpetuates discrimination and it violates the values and principles that are at the core of PayPal’s mission and culture. As a result, PayPal will not move forward with our planned expansion into Charlotte," Dan Schulman, the PayPal president and CEO, said in a statement. "This decision reflects PayPal’s deepest values and our strong belief that every person has the right to be treated equally, and with dignity and respect. These principles of fairness, inclusion, and equality are at the heart of everything we seek to achieve and stand for as a company. And they compel us to take action to oppose discrimination."

The move is the biggest economic backlash to hit North Carolina because of the recent legislation. Braeburn Pharmaceuticals of New Jersey announced last week it was reconsidering its plans to build a $20 million research and manufacturing plant in the state, which would include 50 new positions paying an average $76,000 annual salary. Lionsgate and the A+E network announced last week that they won't film in North Carolina either.

The law in question is known as HB2. In addition to the restroom policy, the measure also blocks lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people from enjoying anti-discrimination protections, and it forbids local North Carolina governments from adopting anti-discrimination and living wage rules to counter the state law.

David Kravets
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